Lassan explained that all the programs implemented when the Peace Corps volunteer is at their post needed to stay when the volunteer leaves. "The community should not take a step backwards when the volunteer leaves," said Lassan. The experience for Lassan was eye opening and something he recommends everyone should do. "Living two years in village, you're on your own, and you learn a lot about yourself," said Lassan. "Just based on the isolation you put yourself into. You're in a community with a thousand other people, but no one else is like you or understands where you come from. No matter how well you integrate into the community, you're still an outsider. It's definitely a learning experience. Just being on the African continent and seeing how things work. Everything was chaotic, but it somehow worked. Once you're there for a couple months, you kind of figure out how to move within the chaos." Now that he's back from his Peace Corps assignment, Lassan plans to continue his education and is currently applying to several medical schools.
Joe Lassan IV, who just returned from a two-year mission with the Peace Corps in Zambia
Local graduate returns from Peace Corps mission
Oct 7 2009 12:00AM By Carly Omenhiser Sun Staff Writer
Imagine walking off a plane in Washington, D.C. and being confronted with the blaring echo of electronic voices over speakers, video screens flashing advertisements, cell phones chiming and people hustling through corridors with their faces glued to the screen of their Blackberries.
Now imagine this confrontation after being in South Africa for two years where time, and electricity for that matter, is the last thing on the minds of the local Lunda tribe of Zambia.
"It's kind of a sensory overload," said Joe Lassan IV, who just returned from a two-year mission with the Peace Corps. "People just don't care about time. I can't explain how stress-free it was."
Lassan, a 2003 graduate of Enterprise High School, was assigned to live with the Lunda tribe in the northwest province of the Mwinilunga District in Zambia.
After receiving his degree in medical microbiology from the University of Wisconsin, Lassan decided to take the opportunity to travel before he applied to medical school.
"(The University of Wisconsin) usually ranks number one or number two in the universities that have Peace Corps volunteers join up," said Lassan. "I had read a few articles in the student newspaper and that kind of got me curious."
After an extensive application process that can take up to a year to complete, Lassan was accepted into the Peace Corps.
In training, he found that the people who join the Peace Corps are from all walks of life, from ex-professional football players to lawyers.
Lassan's training involved an intense two-month language course to help him become more in tune with the culture.
The national language in Zambia is English, so Lassan said it wasn't difficult to communicate with educated members of the tribe. However, like many of the different tribes in Zambia, the Lunda did have their own language that Lassan had to become more familiar with.
Lassan said the children were the easiest to communicate with, because they would explain what a word meant if he didn't understand it, and sometimes would act the word out.
Arriving in Africa, Lassan said he was both excited and intimidated by the new environment.
"The only thing that you know is what program you're in, which doesn't really mean anything, because it just determines what training you go into for the first two months," said Lassan. "You get posted after training, once you get a certain language proficiency. You get posted in your village and you sit there for three months doing needs assessment basically," said Lassan.
His home was mud brick and thatch with mud floors with no electricity and no running water.
It took him three hours to bicycle his way to the nearest place with cell phone service. From there he could hitchhike another 180 miles to the nearest Internet service.
His water was collected from a water source and then carried nearly a mile in a 45-pound jug back to his home.
"It definitely gives you an appreciation for things, and I'm glad that I got that rural setting instead of being in a town," said Lassan.
For the first three months at his post, he was introduced to a family that would be his "go-to" family who assisted him with any needs or questions.
He also met with chiefs, school teachers, agricultural extension officers and other leaders in the community during this introductory period.
Once a three-month assessment was done, Lassan then decided where he was needed most within the community.
He assisted with several tasks in the tribe including medical assistance and the fish farming industry.
"I helped some guys dig ponds and taught them how to manage their ponds," said Lassan.
He was also active in the schools, teaching science and reproductive health, as well as working in a clinic to ensure the health of small children.
"Every week, all the mothers with children that are five and under are suppose to come in and have their child weighed and we graph the weight and make sure that they are gaining weight steadily and advise the mothers on disease prevention," he said.
Lassan explained that all the programs implemented when the Peace Corps volunteer is at their post needed to stay when the volunteer leaves.
"The community should not take a step backwards when the volunteer leaves," said Lassan.
The experience for Lassan was eye opening and something he recommends everyone should do.
"Living two years in village, you're on your own, and you learn a lot about yourself," said Lassan. "Just based on the isolation you put yourself into. You're in a community with a thousand other people, but no one else is like you or understands where you come from. No matter how well you integrate into the community, you're still an outsider.
It's definitely a learning experience. Just being on the African continent and seeing how things work. Everything was chaotic, but it somehow worked. Once you're there for a couple months, you kind of figure out how to move within the chaos."
Now that he's back from his Peace Corps assignment, Lassan plans to continue his education and is currently applying to several medical schools.
Photo: Joe Lassan and children from the Lunda tribe of Zambia on the last day of his two-year assignment with the Peace Corps. (Courtesy photo)
